MoneyWatch101

Negotiating Tactics- Car Purchase

At least once in your life you have heard this word called negotiate, but how effectively have you used it. I have had success with this word in several occasions and I will never make a major purchase or accept a new job without using my negotiation skills carefully to benefit me. How can you implement this word into your life you ask? Well its simple do not be shy to stop a conversation to say: Can you do better? These 4 words are the deciding factor for you saving or making a few thousand dollars. The used car you want to get is listed for $8,500 but most sellers jack up the price in preparation of the negotiation tactics that they will have to deal with. The offer you should make is $6,500, granted you might not get this price but maybe both parties will settle on a 7 grand sales price.

I am one of those people who will not settle for paying more than what I am comfortable paying. So sorry to burst you bubble Mr. Salesman by me not accepting your sales pitch wholeheartedly. All of the moneywatch101 readers should be the same way and negotiate till you get tired. Houses, cars, a new job, jewelry, watches, vacations, gym memberships are all examples of things that can be negotiated. Money you will save and money you will earn when you’re facing and confronting both sides of negotiation talks.

Any way you look at it negotiating things like this can pay off in the long run. $$$

Strategies for Car purchases:

-Always email car dealers prior to getting new / used cars with the details of what you’re looking for.

-Have financing established before going to the dealership and if they offer financing ask them why you should go with their terms.

-Go to Truecar.com and printout the MSRP and price most people are paying for your future car.

-Visit only those dealerships who responded to the email with good prices.

-Walk away the first time you go to the dealership if they do not meet your needs and see what happens from there.

-Have a second car option in a competing dealership, print out the details, show it to the sales man at the 1st dealership the next time you meet to discuss business.

-Once the dealership counters with a price for the car but it is still not the price you asked, attempt to get a better rate if you are borrowing through their financing company.

-If they finally will not budge on the price you want, walk away as you will find the car you need at the right price.

A car is a vehicle that can take you from point A to point B and it doesn’t have to be a thing that will break the bank or put you in debt for 7 years. Whatever your preference is used or new, please know that you will be adding about $350-750 on average of new monthly expenses for your precious vehicle. (Car payment, Insurance, Gas, Maintenance) Personally I hate having a car payment, but I understand that they are a necessity for some as getting to work might require having that mode of transportation. Also if you have a 19 year old car then maybe you are the right candidate to get an upgrade. In any event shop smart and see below for a few of my tips that I always think of before making a major car purchase.

A few Tips I live by:

-Never Lease as it is a waste of money

-Always get financing for only 3-4 years (5-7 years is too long)

-Look at 3 year used car prices first and compare that to current model prices

-Do not rush into buying- When you find the perfect car, think about it for a few days

-Always go car shopping with a second car minded person ( Who can give you feedback)

These tactics will help you watch your money.

Pic courtesy of Tesla : Model S

Memorial Day, Boston, and Cheers

What a great weekend I must say. My family and I made the trip to Boston, MA for a three day weekend initially, but things changed. More on that later. I always attempt to do first time things when traveling to a destination away from home and we can successfully say we did a few. Guess what we did? Finally hit up cheers to get a few drinks. The Cheers bar thing has always been on my mind as a subliminal bucket list thing to do, now I can cross it off. JP Lick’s is a great place to get ice cream and even though it was my second time there the ice cream is so good that it feels like the first time. The only downside to the trip was that we had to cut the weekend short to two nights instead of three.

First Time Events:

-Cheers Bar
-Trampoline Event
-Rizzo’s Pizza
-Drove Non-Stop from Boston to NJ

What did we Spend:

-Hotel – $224
-Food- 85
-Kids Activities- $24
-Cheers- 35 (Got a Mug)
-Gas- $70
-Tolls- $10
-Parking- $20
-Ice Cream- $25 (JP Lick’s)

(In the Food category all drinks are included with that amount)

All in all we spent about $500 dollars for a two day trip to Massachusetts. Even though it was a budget buster weekend we enjoyed every minute of it. We visited family, friends, and just spent a few fun filled days with each other in another state. I probably should take the family away more often since we all had a great time, but the Mrs. is in school every weekend and I would never consider going without her. The funny thing about the weekend is that we did everything spontaneously because the original plans to go to Maine fell through, maybe we will go there next year.

What were your plans this weekend did you go away or did you stay home bound? No matter what you did I hope you enjoyed spending some dollars for those great experiences with your loved ones. That’s the one category in my budget that I actually do not feel guilty spending dough on.

So since I recently went on a mini-vacation I will answer a giveaway J.money is doing with hotel club.

What is the best tip for saving money on travel?

My answer to this mysterious question would have to be, if you are traveling to an international island destination to book the hotel separate from the flights. In my research with my previous travel plans I have saved between 200-500 dollars when I reserve them separately. For example some resorts have a direct number that you can call or a reservation website. This only will work if the resort offers this direct booking service. If not you are limited to the vacation packages on the web.

Comment below to let the readers know what you did and how deep you went in your pocket for all the fun you had over the Memorial day weekend.

Which would you prefer? – The Dentist or Personal Finance

The dentist or personal finance talk which is worse, is money talk really that bad or are people just scared to disclose their situations. In all my research those that get together to talk about money for the most part do great at growing it. Millionaires love to talk about the intricacies based on increasing monetary value aka Money. Compound this on top of the principle idea, thus giving the founders who talk about money a spring board leap above the rest of those individuals who pester my mind with nonsense gab.

When I am expressing to discuss money, I am not asking anybody to give up how much you’re worth or what you’re income is. All I am attempting to convey is for people to step up and just give an opinion, share a financial story, or make an attempt to grow your knowledge of finance by reading and talking. If you feel any sense of urgency like I do then you know that time is passing super fast and we need to take action now.

If your not about action than your malfunction in life is best kept to yourself. Now let’s form a circle of networked based individuals who can pull and multiply resources with ease by not giving up, being persistent, having a drive for more out of this life.

Success is measured in many ways and I view it as:

1. Having the things you need not want
2. Living within your means not living extravagantly
3. Leaving a legacy for those important in your life and making a difference in your community

All of this is possible by succeeding in the money game and gaining freedom from a 9-5 type of employer.

I welcome any ideas, comments, and any influential discussions that you may have on this topic. If you prefer to talk about getting a tooth pulled then do not respond because this is a financial blog dedicated to bringing about change in the personal finance world. Those individuals that are learning how to really take advantage in this new era of an economy, increasing cash flow, maximizing investing techniques, and growing net worth I look forward to hearing from you.

Reduce your Grocery Bill

How to reduce your grocery bill:

1. Never go grocery Shopping when you are hungry.

2. Jot down all the items you need and stick to the list.

3. Always have a budget in mind that you want to spend for every trip.

4. Buy those nutritious items you eat often in bulk size and freeze the excess.

5. Cook a little bit extra for dinner to pre-pack for the next day’s lunch.

6. Teach yourself to go food shopping once a week or once every two weeks.

7. Sign up for the Store’s discount card and watch your bill get reduced with every trip.

8. Have a veggie night where you only eat, whole wheat and veggies.(No Meat)

9. Once or twice a week buy Di’Giorno Pizza for your family instead of take out. (6 dollars/family=Savings)

10. Take 1 minute to compare prices with competitor’s prices. Could save up to .30 per item.

I hope you can take something away from this post and redirect some of the savings off your grocery bill to investments or savings accounts. Some of these might seem obvious or things you already do, but it doesn’t hurt or take away if you follow all ten steps. One of the biggest expenses for a family of four is food and we all could use some techniques to reduce our bill on a consistent basis. For step # eight you can take it a bit further and do two meatless nights or instead try a meat and veggie night while eliminating the rice/pasta/bread carbohydrate portion of your meal. The savings will add up and your body will thank you because you’re consuming less calories.

One thing I struggle with is buying generic instead of the name brand stuff. How so you feel about Generic supermarket brands? Are they any good? What is your favorite generic brand? I could easily save a few hundred bucks a year by going that route, but I am concerned about the flavor of the generics. If you have a moment head over to Wisebread.com and look up all the cool food tips and savings ideas featured in that blog. Great resource if you take the time to read up on their posts.

Do you have some cool grocery tips that I missed and you would like to share with Moneywatch101 readers? Do not hesitate to comment what cool and unique ideas you may have. Just another strategy to help reduce your expenses compared to your income, which is a proven way to financial freedom.

Watch your Money!

Friday Financial Quotes II

Guess What ? It’s Friday!

I wanted to share with you a few quotes today and hopefully this will get you motivated to start the weekend right. These financial quotes will help you get motivation in your life, whether it may be you are working a part-time / side job, looking at growing a business, taking care of a real estate property, or attempting to save a number of pesos this weekend by not making it rain in the clubs. Either way I wanted to share with you these excellent quotes and you guys can take the message any which way your mind desires.

Quote 1-The financial reward is great and I love the life I have, but all money makes possible is for you to stop worrying about money. Then you have freedom to live your life-Paul Stanley

Quote 2- IF you live frugally, then thrifty follows. – RichUncle EL

Quote 3- Today is Frugal Friday-RichUncle EL

In Life we go through many stages. For me I tend to focus on the stages of life that bring me one step closer to the life I desire to live. For example getting out of the rat race and living in complete freedom. These quotes might seem simple and obvious to some, but trust me if you really believe in the power of motivation then quotes like these will change how you think. Start with the end in mind and you will envision your goals.

Well now that you have been enriched with my financially related wisdom, do you feel like commenting? Maybe you feel like writing your own quote, send me an email to Moneywatch101(at) Gmail (Dot) com and I will post it here next week or sometime in the future. Obviously with your permission. LOL.

Watch Your Money!

Failure is not an Option Series I

Quote of the day: Failure is not an option, it is a springboard to success.

One thing I find mind-boggling is how many people are scared to fail and will not attempt what they want to do in life for fear of failing. Risk is embedded in everything we do and people must learn to calculate the level of risk involved so that they can determine if it is worth pursuing or not. How do you calculate it you ask? A simple pros and cons list is one way, a SWOT analysis is another example. Where you can list the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of that new venture you so desire to achieve. If you follow sports and in particular basketball you will notice that Michael Jordan had a commercial with Gatorade where he expresses how many times he failed in life and how it made him a better man and finally a success on the court. Which in turn will transition anybody to be successful in other aspects of life.

Road To Success:

1. Analyze your Desires / Risk Trade off
2. Make an Attempt- If the pros out weight the cons
3. If Cons out weight the pros – Find an alternative Desire /Goal
3. Give a 100% to this new venture and you’re less likely to fail
4. If you are having a difficult time during the process- Ask for help
5. Always perform whatever you do as if it were your first day on the job
6. Find a mentor who has expert knowledge based on your desire
7. If you Fail do not accept Defeat- Try Again.

If you follow these steps you can do better in your new ventures. If you want some of the steps can be done in any order you wish that is best for your situation. This can be related to many areas of life including personal finance / money issues. Those things we dread the most are the things that will help us be better individuals.. If we accept the challenge to overcome them and not let them overcome us. By not pursuing your dreams and desires in life you will let your fears get the best of you.

For me a day is complete when I have achieved a goal that I wished to accomplish in the morning or the day before. I have daily, monthly, and longer term goals that I always set for myself. In a big picture sort of way once you have this type of mind frame you will always keep striving for more as you check off each newly attained goal / desire. This might seem to others as if I will never be satisfied in life, but from my point of view I see it as never being stagnant and always improving on my life. This is what life is truly about from my perspective.

Please comment if you have taken a risk recently or achieved a new goal / desire.

*Image by Redbubble

Friday Financial Quotes I

Hello,

Quote 1- Payday is considered Save Day in my book-RichUncle EL

Quote 2- IF you do not take hustle time seriously, then you just lost it to lazy time-RichUncle EL

Quote 3- I believe in financial retirement. I don’t necessarily believe in physical retirement-Jerry Doyle

OK just let the motivation begin entering your body and mind. HaHa. I cant believe I came up with those two quotes in less than 3 minutes. Now that I have published them in this website, they are officially mine forever. Copyright Laws hopefully will protect my interest. Any Lawyers out there who can comment on copyright info please help a brother out. Ha.

Well now that you have been enriched with my financially related wisdom, do you feel like commenting? Maybe you feel like writing your own quote, send me an email to Moneywatch101(at) Gmail (Dot) com and I will post it here next week or sometime in the future. Obviously with your permission. LOL.

Watch Your Money!

Tuition Funding

There are many countless ways people can find funding to attend a college, university, or trade school. Students need to be proactive in getting an education with the least amount of debt. Obviously people with deep pockets do not have to worry about school costs, but those individuals who are in the middle class and lower class have to find creative ways to pay for school. How much would you need to attend college? Thousands for a bachelors degree and even more for a graduate degree. Listed below are the steps everybody should take if they will be attending a higher education school:

Funding Ideas:

– Get a scholarship for achieving perfect grades or excelling @ sports.
– Get information on all available grants. ( Difficult to get but still possible)
– Apply for financial Aide as soon as you commit to a school.
– Find a part time / full time job that offers Tuition Reimbursements.
– Set up monthly payment plan with Bursar’s office. (Tuition divided by monthly payment amount)
– Apply for a work study program @ the school and get a reduced tuition.
– Register with Upromise.com for a future college student. (This one is for parents)
– Ask for help from a well established financially stable family member.

Easy steps that take time and dedication to fully immerse yourself in the application process towards each one. Effort equals results and this is what you should do to get the best possible result for your pocket while earning a degree. The last one on the list is a bit of stretch as not many people will be willing to give or loan you thousands of dollars and relationships might get ruined if you do not adhere to the agreement of the family loan. If it is a gift then you can not go wrong, but still you can find ways to repay that person back for their generosity in the future. If the family member wants to loan you the funds then make it legal and on paper. But please have every intention of making good on your word. In my experience finding a job while still living at home will net you the best result financially as it did for me during the first 4 years of college. This guarantees all your funds should go to paying off your school tuition.

In the end if you still have to apply for some loans as a last resort to staying in school and on track then by all means do it, even though it is frowned upon by many financial gurus. I tend to think differently as it will be one of the best investments you make in your life. College graduates on average make 2 million more in their working life than high school graduates will ever make. Just have to be extremely dedicated to paying those loans back after you graduate.

Links to maximize School Funding:

Upromise Website
Fastweb Site
Student Scholarship Directory
FinAid Site
Scholarships4students Directory

Comment if you have funding ideas of your own that you want to share with the readers on this site.

Thank you for being a Moneywatch101 Reader.

*PS: Federal student loans are never dis-chargeable in bankruptcy filings.